Load lines

An important insurance against damage in a merchant ship is the allocation of a statutory freeboard. The rules governing this are somewhat complex but the intention is to provide a simple visual check that a laden ship has sufficient reserve of buoyancy for its intended service.

The load line is popularly associated with the name of Samuel Plimsoll who introduced a bill to Parliament to limit the draught to which a ship could be loaded. This reflects the need for some minimum watertight volume of ship above the waterline. That is a minimum

Lets start by identifying what exactly certain boats are. Sometimes the terminology can get lost on beginners, so well look at some of the most common boats and what theyre called. These boats are exactly what the name implies. They are meant to be used for fishing. Most fishing boats are powered by outboard motors, and many also have a trolling motor mounted on the bow. Bass boats can be made of aluminium or fibreglass.